We discussed Patrick Lencioni's The Five Dysfunctions of A Team, which is summarized below:
I like viewing the above list in the form of the triangle in the first picture, because Trust is the foundation which everything else rests on. If there is no trust, then nothing else is going to work. There is a good article HERE on Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions. Some of the things we discussed in the class were...
How to Overcome:
1. Lack of Trust...
- The leader needs to demonstrate trust and honesty, being vulnerable about strengths & weaknesses
- be supportive of others who are taking risks
- set up opportunities for team members to get to know one another
- provide assessments that help us understand others better (Myers-Briggs; StrengthFinder; etc)
2. Fear of Conflict...
- define what conflict is (other than just arguing)
- encourage healthy conflict resolution
- establish feedback process
- express interests rather than solutions (see if you can find solutions for both interests)
- let your ideas do battle rather than people
3. Lack of Commitment...
- "People don't have to have their WAY, as long as they can have a SAY"
- allow people to be heard
- clearly state and articulate vision
- promote ownership among team members (rather than telling them what to do)
4. Avoidance of of Accountability...
- clear communication of action
- clearly defined roles and rules of engagement
- recognition that action can only be done by individuals
- understanding of how our actions effect others
5. Inattention to Results...
- evaluation of outcomes
- establish standards/measurables to evaluate by
- celebrate small and team wins (how what each person did contributed to the team)
- reward on the team's success
Or... to summarize in a picture...
Certainly the fix from dysfunction to function is not an easy road, but I believe it is doable, and is worthwhile in the end. There are a lot of applications for this stuff. Very good.